OFHEO Announces Maximum 2006 Conforming Loan Limit

November 29, 2005

Washington, D.C. – Stephen A. Blumenthal, Acting Director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), today announced the maximum 2006 conforming loan limit for single-family mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This limit, after the customary rounding down to the nearest $50, can be no higher than $417,000 for one-unit properties.

The charters of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac permit an annual adjustment to the maximum size of mortgage loans the Enterprises may purchase. The maximum adjustment is based on the change in the national single-family house price as determined by the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) from its Monthly Interest Rate Survey (MIRS).

Effective January 1, 2006, the maximum original loan amounts for home mortgages will be:

For properties in the United States (except Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands):
-- $417,000 for mortgages on one-family properties (up from $359,650)
-- $533,850 for mortgages on two-family properties (up from $460,400)
-- $645,300 for mortgages on three-family properties (up from $556,500)
-- $801,950 for mortgages on four-family properties (up from $691,600)

For properties in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands:
-- $625,500 for mortgages on one-family properties (up from $539,475)
-- $800,775 for mortgages on two-family properties (up from $690,600)
-- $967,950 for mortgages on three-family properties (up from $834,750)
-- $1,202,925 for mortgages on four-family properties (up from $1,037,400)

Beginning December 1, 2005, acccording to Freddie Mac, lenders can submit mortgages with the new loan limits to Loan Prospector®. Lenders can enter into commitments to sell these mortgages to Freddie Mac immediately, but they may not be delivered to us before January 1, 2006. For Sellers using the selling system, these mortgages may not have settlement or funding dates before January 1, 2006.